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Why take a pass on out-of-state wine sales?

Sentinel & Enterprise

Updated:
03/25/2013 06:31:11 AM EDT

By The Sun of Lowell, Mass.

Drew Bledsoe's been out of pro football for six years but he's still reading defenses. In his visit to the Statehouse on Thursday, the former New England Patriots quarterback sized up the status quo among legislators who've blocked efforts to open up Massachusetts to shipping out-of-state wines directly to the homes of consumers here.

Bledsoe, who owns the Doubleback Winery in Walla Walla, Wash., is lobbying to end the wine blockade, saying it will stimulate industry growth and give consumers more choices.

It will also generate increased revenue from excise taxes paid on wine sales.

Massachusetts distributors and package store owners have fiercely resisted any change in the present law, even though a federal judge and a U.S. Appeals Court have ruled the blockade is unconstitutional.

To date the Legislature has failed to act on crafting a new law. While legislators mostly see the logic in direct shipping, they feel beholden to protect the state's liquor lobby -- a rich source of campaign contributions.

Forty states allow direct shipments from wineries to consumers' homes. Many states slap excise and alcohol taxes on the shipments, producing added revenue for the public treasury.

Massachusetts is one of 11 states that doesn't allow direct shipments. If it did, it would open the door to more revenue in excise taxes, which now averages from $11 million to $12 million a month on liquor sales.

Voters repealed the state's 6.

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25 percent sales tax on alcohol two years ago in a ballot referendum. Proponents saw it as a way to keep the liquor industry competitive with tax-free New Hampshire.

Although data is not available, Massachusetts is likely losing excise-tax revenue from residents who purchase wine from out-of-state merchants and have it shipped to friends, family or post office boxes in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. New Hampshire would receive $48 in excise taxes for a six-bottle shipment of Bledsoe's Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon to an in-state address.

As a federal judge ruled several years ago, Massachusetts' wine restriction on direct shipping unfairly prohibits free commerce between businesses and the states. In simple terms, consumers get shortchanged on access to products.

It would be wise for the Legislature to accept Bledsoe's argument that all will benefit from a strong offensive drive to open up the wine field rather than keep a defensive lid on things.

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